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News With the help of generous volunteers and partner agencies, we completed several rounds of training in the past few months. Classes met around the state and emphasized diverse topics, all centered on safe and effective response to animal-care emergencies. Interested in the RIDART Summit that was held January 23-24? You can click here for a copy of the slides that were used on Saturday. Our improved skills should be valuable not only in rare disasters but also in routines at local pounds and shelters. During next few months, we are planning events to further sharpen skills, attract new volunteers, and generally improve emergency preparedness. At the same time we can work to prevent disasters and minimize their consequences. So please sign up and spread the word of these special RIDART opportunities Check below for dates and details, which will be posted as soon as they are available. |
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Welcome to www.RIDART.org – the team's on-line home!
The Rhode Island Disaster Animal Response Team (RIDART) is a public/private/volunteer partnership to prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies affecting animals in Rhode Island. Those animals include large and small domestic animals as well as wildlife. The emergencies they could face range from storms or floods to fires and oil spills.
The team is composed of volunteers who work under the direction of the RI State Veterinarian. Training – normally free to team members – emphasizes safe handling of animals, pet first aid, effective rescuing, sheltering, and reuniting pets with their owners. The team helps assure that Rhode Islanders are as ready as possible to make the best of bad situations.
Applications are welcome from everyone. No matter what your level of experience or expertise, RIDART can help you make a difference.
Supporters of RIDART include:
- American Humane Association (AHA)
- American Kennel Association (AKA)
- American Red Cross, RI Chapter (ARC)
- Animal Rescue League of Southern Rhode Island (ARLSRI)
- Audubon Society of RI (ASRI)
- Brown University
- Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
- New England Equine Rescues (NEER)
- Ocean State Job Lot (OSJL)
- Office of the Governor of the State of RI
- Potter League for Animals
- Providence Animal Rescue League (PARL)
- RI Animal Control Officers Association
- RI Citizen Corps State Council
- RI Department of Environmental Management (RI DEM)
- RI Disaster Medical Assistance Team (RI DMAT)
- RI Emergency Management Agency (RI EMA)
- RI Farm Bureau (RIFB)
- RI Federation of Riding Clubs (RIFRC)
- RI Hospital
- RI Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RISPCA)
- RI Veterinary Medical Association (RIVMA)
- RI Veterinary Technician Association (RIVTA)
- Roger Williams Park Zoo (RWPZ)
- Save the Bay
- US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
- University of Rhode Island (URI)
- Volunteer Center of Rhode Island (VCRI)
- Volunteer Services for Animals (VSA)
- Wildlife Rehabilitators Association of RI (WRARI)
- Plus veterinary clinicians and hospitals, government officials, emergency managers, animal control officers, and shelter managers and staff in cities and towns as well as volunteers throughout Rhode Island
RIDART welcomes volunteers of many kinds. In an emergency, people with animal-care expertise are essential, but so is an even larger number of people with varied skills. Readiness and response are truly team efforts.
We at RIDART hope everyone enjoyed a happy and healthy holiday season and a fresh start to the New Year. It has been a long and chilly winter thus far but we have been busy at RIDART organizing some exciting events for 2010. Among those events is a special training workshop to provide important information to participants on how to handle a disaster in Rhode Island.
RIDART is a volunteer partnership to prepare for, respond to, and recover from any disaster that affects pets, wildlife and livestock in Rhode Island. What would you do if a disaster struck Rhode Island leaving family pets and strays lost and homeless? Do you have an evacuation/emergency kit ready for your pet(s)? Do you have a plan on where to go with your pet(s) in case of an emergency?
In the coming months RIDART will be hosting a hands-on “warm up exercise” for all members of the RIDART team and any community volunteers who would like to participate. We invite you to join us on April 18th from 12-3:30pm at the Goddard Park Rotunda in Warwick, RI for this special training event. Valuable experience and refreshments will be provided to all participants.
We kindly request that you RSVP to bgrenier@hannahstreet.com by April 1st if you would like to participate in this exercise.
We are very grateful to have such a great team of dedicated volunteers and hope to see you in April.
Best regards,
Stephanie Hagopian
President, Board of Directors
Volunteers must submit a 3-page application, which includes a pledge to adhere to the RIDART Code of Conduct, and a recent (no more than one-year-old) criminal background check.
Click here to download the Application Form and click here for instructions on how to get a background check. Submit a copy of these two documents (the application and BCI check) to the address below, and you're done. It's that simple!
If you have leadership skills, on the application please mention your interest in volunteering for a Shelter Management Team.
Only a little screening, coordination, and specialized training are required. In particular, all volunteers must gain certification in ICS and NIMS (the Incident Command and National Incident Management Systems).
The US government makes that certification available for free through on-line independent study. The courses are called "Introduction to ICS" (IS-100) and "Introduction to NIMS" (IS-700). To get started, just click on IS-100 and IS-700 here.
Many more Independent Study courses that are free and provide certificates can be found on-line at http://training.fema.gov/IS/crslist.asp. RIDART also sponsors training events throughout the year. These opportunities are posted on the calendar to the left, as soon as details are available.
Contact RIDART
Completed Applications should be addressed to RIDART Executive Director
You are also welcome to send comments or questions to RIDART through the e-mail connection below.
Check out RIDART's new Facebook page, which includes a link to photos from the 2009 RIDART Summit.
Hannah Street Consulting, Inc.
301 Pearl Street #108
Providence, RI 02907
